Historical documents may provide unique perspectives on events that happened in the past; hence the transcription must be accurate to avoid ambiguities.

A historical document is a record of events written during a specific period of time by a person or an organization. These documents provide information about individuals, places, or historical events.

Since the documents are usually written by those who lived in the period when they were created, they may provide a rich understanding of events that happened during the period, often through personal accounts.

By studying these sources, we can gain a better understanding of the world and how it has changed over time. The ancient documents provide insight into the historical era they were created in and can be found in libraries, museums and archives.

Need for transcribing historical documents

Transcribed history is a valuable part of cultural heritage: it captures the memories and reflections of people who are no longer alive, and reveals historical events from diverse perspectives.
Future generations can benefit from the transcription of documents. It is important to transcribe and digitize historical documents in order to preserve the information for future use, so that information that has been lost or smudged over time will be available for future research. In addition, it enables us to better understand the past.

Since so much of our history is being lost, transcribing historical documents is particularly important for future generations. Without a transcription, we will never find out the true significance of the document, and future generations will not be able to study it.

When ancient documents are transcribed, the ancient stories become alive and are accepted by a broader audience. The ancient documents you have to deal with are usually fragile and handwritten, whether you’re researching your family tree or documenting the history of a city, church, or organization. By transcribing you can preserve these ancient treasures, and these can be handed down from generation to generation.

Why accuracy is paramount in transcribing historical documents?

Transcribing historical documents is not as straightforward as it sounds. Transcribing from a text requires patience, knowledge and experience of the language and the time period from which the text comes. You should attempt to understand how the document is written and know what sections are necessary to your analysis or research. You will also have to read or understand another language that was in use during the particular period. In addition, understanding how to use dictionaries will aid in enhancing the accuracy of transcriptions.

A key requirement of transcription is accuracy based on a detailed understanding of the context. It is possible for even a very small mistake to change the meaning and context of an entire document, damaging someone’s credibility. To ensure that a historical document’s true meaning is preserved, it is of the utmost importance that each transcription be as accurate as possible.

Why you should consider a professional transcriptionist?

Transcripts of the majority of the data are available online and users can check the quality of the transcription directly. Hence, it is important to ensure that your transcriptions of historical documents are accurate.

If the document is inaccurate, the information about the history and the understanding you gain from it will be adversely affected. This is why it is important to hire a reliable, knowledgeable, and well-informed transcription service in order to meet all of your transcription needs. Professional transcriptionists understand every word, phrase, and statement, and provide you with reliable insights into the historic document.

A professional service provider will help you decode the historical documents and make them searchable so that anyone can access and read them.

Record your historical documents the right way

Transcription requires a good grasp of the original language and time period in order for the transcription to be accurate. The smallest of errors can alter the entire meaning of a sentence. The inaccuracy of the transcript is particularly detrimental as it invalidates the intended meaning of the sentence and damages its overall integrity.

SBL provides accurate transcriptions of historical documents that allow for easy indexing and search. For more than a decade, we have provided cost-effective and reliable transcription services to numerous reputable organizations. You can count on us to transcribe documents like wills, contracts, military service records, manuscripts, church records, and historical diaries with absolute accuracy and speed.

We undertake a thorough study of the transcription project before we initiate the process and identify the methodology to follow for ensuring accuracy. Our team follows key as seen method where we enter the information as exactly what you see. We also keep the spellings as it is and do not normalize it.

Our process avoids all guess works and marks any indecipherable letters or words with a question mark. Even if the original document has any spelling errors we enter the names as it is and do not modify it. We communicate with you regularly during the project and all issues we encounter while transcribing the documents are immediately flagged and discussed with you for rectification.

We are a team of passionate individuals who strive to make history more accessible today. Our experienced transcriptionists provide high-quality services to our clients within minimum turnaround time.

Contact our Genealogy division to know more about our transcription services and get an immediate quote.